There are various known devices for teaching pre-emergent and emergent readers alphabet and phoneme awareness, recognition of spelling patterns and initial consonant sounds, word building, and sentence construction. However, as students progress in skill level, these devices do not provide a consistent or progressively challenging approach throughout the process of teaching reading and spelling, nor are they suitable for teaching such readers via several different methods. Different people learn in different ways, e.g., seeing, doing, touching (manipulating).
Known devices include kits of substantially two-dimensional pieces which offer different colors and different sizes of parts that fit together and bear letters, word parts or words to reinforce reading and spelling skills, but they do not offer the opportunity to simultaneously mix and match different, but similar, information. That is, because the pieces are flat each such piece provides only one visible piece of reading information. For example, alphabet pieces will have only one letter of the alphabet visible. There are also kits of three-dimensional pieces shaped like blocks and bearing letters, word parts or words to reinforce reading and spelling skills, which may be placed next to each other, but which do not connect together. Without connection, the blocks are easily disturbed by beginning readers who lack good small motor skills. Thus, the known three-dimensional pieces lack tactile connections. Also known are three-dimensional, snap-fit blocks used to teach math skills. These blocks, however, do not teach reading skills and carry only one kind of math indicia on any given block.
Consequently, a need exists for, and it is an object of this invention to provide, a method for teaching reading, spelling, and grammar/usage using an apparatus which can be used to facilitate different learning methods, progressively challenge students as they improve their skills, and permit interlocking of letters, word parts or words to teach reading, spelling, and grammar/usage.
In addition, this method and apparatus can be used in connection with one or more primers in teaching and reinforcing reading skills.